The workshop of Life Story and Spiritual Healing I

Topic : Intimacy and Freedom

Moderator : Professor Yang Pei

Reporter : Huang Shihting

Since August 2010 the School of Life & Living in DDU has been holding a series workshop of  “ Life Story and spiritual healing”. It targeted the students and the general public interested in taking the coming university courses of Life & Living school in DDU.

The first course hold on August 14^th, 2010Saturday at Dharma DrumDegui Academy  2^nd floor meeting room. Professor Yang Pei used “Intimacy & Freedom”as topic to carry out one-day workshop course. This workshop were focused on ideas including : “To be free, need to understand intimacy first; As long as living in human relationshipwill demand intimacy. How could we find a balance between intimacy and freedom ? How to enjoy the intimacy, but not lose freedom ?”

The participant in this workshop is around one hundred from all age. This course began on walking freely in open space to feel alone. Through gradual method the teacher ledunfamiliar members starting contact each other and build interaction. From unfamiliar crowd small groupsemerged, to shareeach other intimate story in life experience. Teacher Yang said “Not only the young people are eager to explore intimate issue. In fact, people from born to dead keep on pursuing intimacy .” “Within intimate relationship, everyone has expectation toward others, thus he gets tangled, hope through entanglement to get approval, loved and value; But at the same time brought up a lot of suffering, the most important is loss the freedom.”

During this activity going, many participants had smile but also tears on face. Teacher Yang will everyone not feel embarrassed about in tears, because people all desire for intimacy but also fear of intimacy, owing to fear losing intimacy, with time it becomes a horror and getting forget intimacy. Warm tears will get through deep inside and slowly open the long closed mind, touch fear, accept horror, rise courage to face this feelings. At this time intimacy will emerge out slowly. This is an exploring journey, also the most important key-point. Sometimes people just have not enough warm and safe feelings, they are afraid of exploring and embracing. Take courage, even feel not secured still taking adventure. Teacher stimulated everyone to look out all the time and take any chance in life to adventure.

While sharing with each other, many people felt the challenge because of individual discrepancy. Teacher Yang led everyone gradually to think over, just because of big discrepancy in between, so need adjustment with each other. Except open yourself actively, further more always respect the adjusted space between each others. This world is created by all the human being, everyone has different life experiences, need more understanding and interrelation for each other.

Although in the processing of interrelation, because entering intimate relationships will feel being controlled by others, and forget the opened and freely mind. Actually human relation is very complicated, especially join binding from various roles, will mix all together, cause all kinds of unfreedom’s interference. Therefore teacher remind all, at this moment need more aware of ones present situation, using softe heart to interaction, and using generous and empathic attitude to response.

During the whole day’s course, teacher Yang merged psychological knowledge and Buddhistic realization to explore  individuals own lives story together with students; Through various activities, group discussion, story sharing, everyone explored personal life experience, had experienced the meaning and value of intimacy, furthermore re-evaluated howation, to find comfort and happiness in life.